


Backstage Access

by sIRoDDbALL



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Multi, Non-binary character, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:14:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26013226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sIRoDDbALL/pseuds/sIRoDDbALL
Summary: A bunch of drabbles centered around Marina and New Staff-san. Updates will happen when I want to dang it.
Relationships: Protagonist/Tsukishima Marina, Tsukishima Marina/New Staff-san
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	Backstage Access

**Author's Note:**

> it's been a hella long time since I've been able to write. slumps suck and this how Imma tackle it.

Like clockwork, Sayo approached the live house doors precisely ten minutes after opening and twenty minutes prior to her actual studio booking. Similarly timed was Tae’s visit that day, who literally just crawled out of bed. Marina held up her magazine a little higher, though not so much as to block the view of wholesome bonding that was about to play out.

Just like she hoped, the two noticed each other and struck up a conversation before entering. Sayo’s attentive gaze gradually became confused by whatever Tae was gleefully explaining, but no less interested in what her junior had to say. Tae gradually grew closer and closer to her fellow guitarist until suddenly stepping back. Sayo’s face mirrored that of Marina’s one; a raised brow and an uncertain grimace of what’s to come.

They made a very strange pair upon first impressions. That wasn’t saying much anymore. Both were still the diligent and skilled guitarists Marina knew from first meeting them, yet very different since those five bands came together. It was hard to believe it had only been a year since she began watching over all these high school girls. And soon, they’d all graduate, start working or go to college, then graduate again and become adults like her… at that point Marina herself will be-

She forcefully stopped that train of thought before it got to the ageing station. Marina buried herself deeper and deeper into her magazine.

The door opened without warning. With her retail instincts, Marina shot up from her chair to look professional or busy. She threw her magazine under the desk and patted her palms against her pants. “W-Welcome!” 

“Good morning Marina-san,” nodded Sayo, poised and polite. 

“Morning,” Tae yawned. Her hair lacked in the silky appearance of the guitarist next to her, what with stray stands poking up around her crown. 

Sayo’s stiff demeanor relaxed to reveal a friendly smile. “How are you doing this morning?” 

Marina switched to her casual mode. “I'm pretty good. Oh! We finally got those new amps and speakers that Dub house has been using.” Sayo congratulated her before applauding along with Tae. “Remember to be careful when you guys perform, alright? They’re very, _very_ expensive...” Goosebumps ran along her arms as she recalled the infamous CiRCLE collapsing/revival arc. “I don’t think my employment will last another one of your group concerts.”

“Ah, yes. I sincerely apologize for that on the behalf of everyone.” Sayo bowed promptly, acutely aware of the also-very-expensive guitar on her back.

“Actually, there was this new amp I saw going around last night. A lot of the live houses are gonna be using them when they come out and Lay told me-”

“T-Thanks for telling me, and yeah, I saw them…” The atmosphere grew dim as her tone dropped. Marina changed topics before she started brooding. “How about you two?” 

“Quite well myself,” Sayo replied evenly. 

“Sayo-senpai and I are blood brothers now.” Tae’s glittering emeralds were glued to Sayo’s gradually reddening cheeks. “She’s been promoted to second lieutenant of Hanazono Land!”

Marina raised a curious brow at that. “I-It wasn’t anything deserving of that. She’s exaggerating,” stuttered Sayo, curling a strand of hair.

As they began to delve into Hanazono Land’s hierarchy, Marina found herself getting absorbed into their casual, clumsy pace. To experience and explore youth all over with these girls was a wish Marina had briefly. It was difficult to pin down when exactly, but she just became aware of it one day. She hadn’t thought about it for some time though. Not when these girls were so eager to share their stories with her. 

Tae’s attention eventually traveled from Marina to the empty spot next to her. “Is Yuu working in the bookstore today?”

Marina shook her head. “They’re putting away the old-”

**_BAM_ **

The door to the lounge opened abruptly. Sayo froze up when the sudden sound stirred even more of a ruckus behind the counter. It was a jarring contrast to the quaintness moments prior, from Marina’s screaming to the thud of the counter to all items on said counter dropping to the floor. Tae seemed unaffected. 

The culprit behind her heart attack peeked their head out shamelessly. “Sorry for taking so long. The light in the closet died on me.” 

“Y-Yuu! Don’t scare me like that!” shouted Marina, still a bit frazzled at the startle. Tae picked up the magazines and flyers that fell over.

“Oh, sorry.” Their face and tone was flat, as if scaring her was a regular occurrence. “Hey Sayo, hey Tae.” Yuu’s calm expression warmed into a small smile when greeting the two students. 

“Minano-san. A pleasure to see you.”

“‘Sup? How’s the new equipment?”

Yuu threw a thumbs up. “Tested them out earlier and they should be all good. But did you see those new amps?” A darker aura was being emitted from the counter. “They won’t be available to the public for some time. Maybe a year or two even.” The aura was dispelled.

As the two signed into their respective time slots, Yuu began organizing the CDs meticulously. They skimmed through the new arrivals on display, reshuffling and moving around the cases until they were satisfied.

“...That’s right. Minano-san?” Sayo called them over. She brandished another CD case from the side of her bag. Its design was none Marina had ever seen before. “Thank you for the recommendation.”

Tae’s pen stopped when she saw the cover. “S-Sayo-senpai…” Within an instant, both of her hands clutched her elder’s in a painful-looking grip. “I think I can promote you to first-and-a-half lieutenant.”

Yuu nodded in agreement, returning to her station right next to Marina.

Sayo's pupils darted between the two with narrowed eyes; a sign of her utter befuddlement. “Did you recommend this to Poppin’ Party too?”

Yuu shook their head. “Tae was the one to show me them.” A mini explosion went off as their fists met.

Sayo’s eyes widened, uncertain of what to make of that exchange. “I-I see. Well, I can say I was pleasantly surprised.” Their shoulders perked up. A breeze passed through from the window to which Yuu’s ponytail swished in response. “Despite the quick tempo, each part stands out while still being cohesive.”

Their reserved smile perked up. “Absolutely. You would think that their speed would make the composition lackluster, however it all comes together instead of clashing into a mess of sounds.” Yuu leaned over the counter with clenched fists. 

Marina made no comment, foreseeing the evolving rant. She simply admired this unexpected, yet common, sight of Yuu dialed to a hundred. She couldn’t count on her hands how many times customers were put off by Yuu’s unsociable aura, what with their facial quirks and voice fluctuations mostly absent in small talk. In truth, they were really honest with their feelings once they could navigate the topic. Honest to a fault almost.

Yuu continued. Their hand gestures were vigorous, as if trying to whip up a mini tornado. “They’ve been accused of editing their songs in the studio, but in every interview, they just tell them to come to a live show. There’s no need for words when their music skill says it all. Isn’t that so cool?”

Tae nodded with her nose raised, almost like she was in that band herself. “That’s what I said too. It’s really cool how they kept that guitar string break in the song!”

“Oh, right! I looked for it and it was at the very end. Man, you really can't tell unless you’re familiar with guitars, huh?”

Sayo took a moment to respond before chuckling fondly. “My thoughts are much the same, Minano-san. There’s no denying the authenticity in their songs. It was a nice change from what me and Hina normally hear.”

Yuu’s heels left the ground, their weight shifting towards the balls of their feet. “I’m glad Hina could have a listen too. Have you shown this to Ako? I think she would be really into the setting the band has. The drums are as impressive as the guitar in this song, so…”

It was so easy to lose herself when listening to Yuu go on and on. Not many adults she knew were so openly energetic and passionate at their age. To be fair though, Yuu was still fairly young. They were only one year older but Marina had seniority in the CiRCLE. Age gaps meant very little after high school. Still, there was some ease in having a smaller divide. 

Awareness of time passing stirred her out of her daze. “Uh, you guys?” Marina cut in, glancing up from her wrist watch. “I really hate to interrupt you guys, but the studio time…”

“... _Ah_.” All three froze, blankly staring at the wall clock.

Sayo flushed and coughed into her fist. “We should be going now,” she said, pointedly glaring down Tae before she extended her time. Marina could see the coming budgeting lecture in her frown alone. “We may discuss later on this if you are free.”

Yuu nodded, their neutral smile returning. They idly fiddled with their collection of CDs. “Sounds good. Sorry about that and good luck with practice.” 

With that, the two went down the hall. 

“Continuing from earlier… Rabbits are truly strong-willed creatures, being able to stand up to carrots.”

“Really? I like them ‘cuz they’re cute. Especially Oddie. He's the first lieutenant by the way.”

As their voices grew distant, silence returned to the lobby. 

Marina let Yuu sort through the CD cases again. Once they were all put away, Marina shifted closer. “Is that a new anisong band?” Much to her surprise, Yuu shook their head. They held up the single. Both the title and the artist’s name were in English. The cover was all metal chains, fiery emblems and the like. It was foreign to her in more ways than one. “T-That’s pretty intense looking. Do they do video game songs?”

Yuu nodded, their enthusiasm from earlier returning. “At first, I just thought their style was cool. Then I found out they made music for this old rhythm game I used to play. Tae and Rokka brought them up one day, so I got into it from there.” Yuu rubbed their chin. Marina could see all the gears turning in their head as they went over today’s bookings. “I should see if Moca and Ran would be interested… Kaoru too maybe.”

Marina chuckled a bit. She was more than glad to see everyone get along so well. “That sounds really cool. I’m still surprised. It’s rare for you to find bands outside of using anime and video games.”

Their face dissolved back into another one of their neutral expressions. “I used to be like that. I mean, still am kinda.” Yuu darted their gaze about, looking at anything but Marina. They took a drink from their water bottle before going on. “...Books and music, stuff like that. I never had that close of a circle of people to recommend anything to me. In the rare case I did, I didn’t take them seriously. I’m the type to stick to what I like and things open up naturally.” Their flats tapped against the floor in a slow rhythm. “Is that weird?” 

Marina closed her eyes, trying to imagine herself in their shoes. She couldn’t. Her own circle of friends revolved around music and a band formed on the impulsive dreams of adolescence. Then, Marina took in her surroundings. Red couches for patrons that were cleaned up this morning, music magazines on display in every corner, posters and instruments hung on the walls, flyers of upcoming events that Marina helped plan herself, and a kind, passionate junior to watch over. She stepped into those shoes. 

“No, I think I know what you mean. That last part at least.” 

A smile that showed their dimples meant that Yuu was overjoyed beneath their cool surface. “I’m glad we can relate on something. Weirdly enough, I’m also glad we aren’t the exact same.” Yuu didn't say anything else for some time. Marina remained silent, sensing that there was more that wanted to be said. “I couldn’t think that way when it was just the bookstore job, even though it's still fun. This live house is really something special.”

There was a slight tremor in her chest, running over her body in such a way that made her somewhat sad. It was a similar sensation to the days Yuu’s schedule would result in Marina at the counter alone. And Yuu was a young girl with work experience to spare; job opportunities weren’t spry. “...I want to keep making it a special place. Somewhere anyone can come back to any time.”

Yuu nodded. “...right.”

Marina playfully pushed them, feeling her embarrassment catch up to herself. “H-Hey! Say something else! It's awkward to say all that, y'know?” 

“Oh, okay.” Yuu turned away from her, inspecting the floor intensely. They put a hand over their chest, mumbling under their breath. 

Right before Marina could ask what they said, the door opened. Yuu was the first to react and greeted the girl who went straight towards them. Another girl followed, wanting to sign into Studio B along with a rental guitar. Marina attended to her and the two of them rode the wave of patrons from mid-morning into the early evening.

Marina wondered what Yuu could have said for their ears to be so red.

“...that’s the last one.” Marina said, putting away the microphone stand into the side closet. She walked up to the stage, gleaning the space for anything she could have missed. All the new and pricey speakers were carefully put off to the side. The floor was barren of any forgotten belongings or remaining garbage. There, Marina stood in the center with the spotlights still on.

She couldn’t help but feel excited from being on stage like this. “Maybe I’m becoming an old lady,” said Marina halfheartedly. As Marina turned to leave, she bumped into an amp tucked away in the corner. Familiarity indicated that it was not the expensive amp. Her wallet cried out in joy. How did she and Yuu miss this? Just before she was about to pick it up, Marina paused. She withdrew her hand.

With nostalgia as her guide, Marina picked up her blue guitar hidden behind the stage. It wasn’t the same model she had back when she was in a band; that one was at home. This was special to her anyways, as she used it during the big New Year’s party.

After pulling up a stool, setting up her amp, and some quick tuning, she ran her pick over the strings. Marina idly strummed with no song particularly in mind. Eventually, it began to play something reminiscent of her early days. Something fun. A little upbeat, a bit sentimental. Still quite fun though. She mumbled some vague lyrics to harmonize with her playing.

As the melody came to a close, Marina heard clapping echo in the empty space. There they were; her only audience member. “Yuu?! What are you doing here?”

Yuu raised their broom up. “Cleaning.” A smile was sent her way. This was of the rarer ones. One of fondness that Marina would catch just before Yuu turned away and she had to check to see if they were looking at someone else. There was never anyone there. “Encore?”

Marina’s guitar made a strangled sound. “Huh, encore?! B-But don’t you wanna go home? I’m sure you want to. Like, I’m not really _playing_ anything…”

Yuu approached the stage and sat on the edge of it. “It’s fine. I’m staying because I want to.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I based NewStaff's name off my choice for that Love Live poll for their Player-insert chara.
> 
> I'm still figuring some things out about myself rn so if I wrote something offensive please let me know asap.


End file.
